Take the Manna Test
“Take the Manna Test.”
Today’s podcast is adapted from my book, Jesus Calls, Walk With Me.
My Journa,l August 12, 2017:
I needed to be reassured of Jesus’ love for me. I was in physical pain and it was blinding me – all I could see was the pain. So I asked, “Jesus, how are you loving me right now in ways I can't see?”
He said, "You've been drinking from the wrong pool. You've been drinking from the pool of dark thoughts, the pools of discouragement and despair. You think you are in a desert. You think there is a dark cloud over you. Look up. It is a rain cloud!!"
Jesus laughed. "Drink only the water I give. Sweet water of life. Not the bitter waters of human life, but the water from the heavens. Open your mouth and I will fill it. As the ravens fed Elijah, I will feed you. Spiritual drink, spiritual food. I will sustain you. "
"Now get up, dust yourself off and get going. You're walking with me."
“Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”
Psalm 81:10 (NIV)
Since then, Jesus has reminded me of this wonderful promise again and again. Every morning I come to Him, open to be filled with what He has for me that day. He always comes. He gives me things I don’t know I need until much later.
Manna from Heaven
The Israelites were finally freed from slavery in Egypt. God had done amazing miracles to get them this far. But now they were in a desert. There was no food, no water. The people complained.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions."
...and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.
Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”
…
Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.”
However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
Each morning everyone gathered as much as they needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.
The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.
Exodus 16:4, 13-21, 31 (NIV)
Manna had to be painstakingly picked off the desert floor – little flakes lying in the sand. If you were late, it was gone, melted by the sun. You couldn’t hoard it. Overnight, it rotted and became full of maggots. Either you developed a daily routine of gathering your manna or you starved.
God wasn’t’ just testing their obedience; He was testing their hearts. The manna test is a heart test. And it was to make the people rely on Him every day.
It is the same with us today. God has bread from heaven for us. We need to gather it first thing every morning. Yesterday’s bread won’t be good today. We need fresh bread.
If I don’t meet with Jesus first thing in the morning, the day has a way of taking over. Appointments, work, phone calls, and distractions fill my heart and my mind. I am no longer available mentally or emotionally even if I can grab a few minutes to “be with Jesus.”
“I will be Your Daily Bread.”